At least 13 dead after youth protests against Nepal social media ban

After a government led to conflicts between demonstrations against social media ban, at least 13 people were killed in Nepal and dozens of injured in Nepal.

Thousands of people made a call by demonstrators as a generation Z for gathering near the Parliament building in Kathmandu upon the decision to ban platforms such as Facebook, X and Youtube.

Nepal’s communication Minister Prithvi Subba said that BBC police had to use water balls, batons and rubber bullets with ignition.

The government said that social media platforms should be arranged to make false news, hate speech and online fraud.

However, on popular platforms like Instagram, there are millions of users who trust them for entertainment, news and work in Nepal.

The demonstrators carried banners with slogans, including “enough” and “ending corruption”.

Some said the government protested what they call the authoritarian attitude.

As the rally moved to a limited area close to parliament, some protesters climbed the wall.

“The protesters used tear gas and water balls after violating the limited area,” police spokesman Shekhar Khanal said to the AFP news agency. He said.

A Kathmandu Regional Office spokesman, protesters after trying to enter the parliamentary building, including the curfews, including the curfew, he said.

Last week, the authorities ordered the blocking of 26 social media platforms so that Nepal would not comply with a deadline to register with the Ministry of Communication and Information Technologies.

Since Friday, users have had difficulty accessing platforms, but some use VPNs to overcome the ban. So far, two platforms have been re -activated after registering to the Ministry following the ban.

The Nepal government argued that it did not ban social media, but that it was trying to make them compliance with Nepalce laws.